JOHANNESBURG — After weeks battling critical illness, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and an emblem of its struggle against apartheid, spent his 95th birthday in the hospital on Thursday and the authorities said his condition was “steadily improving.”
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The assessment contrasted with weeks of concern among South Africans and across the globe that Mr. Mandela might not recover from a lung injection that forced him into the hospital for the fourth time in a year on June 8.
Mr. Mandela’s birthday was also marked by Mandela Day when schools across the land paid tribute to the former president at morning assemblies and many organizations asked supporters to volunteer 67 minutes of their time to mark his 67 years of public service.
In a statement, President Jacob Zuma wished Mr. Mandela a happy birthday on Thursday and, using the former president’s clan name, said: “Madiba remains in hospital in Pretoria but his doctors have confirmed that his health is steadily improving.”
“On behalf of government and all the people of South Africa, we wish Madiba a joyous 95th birthday,” the statement said. “We are proud to call this international icon our own as South Africans and wish him good health. We thank all our people for supporting Madiba throughout the hospitalization with undying love and compassion. We also thank all for responding to the call to give Madiba the biggest birthday celebration ever this year.”
Mr. Mandela was hospitalized in June to be treated for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.
Little is know about the details of his medical condition. A court affidavit filed in June in a dispute within Mr. Mandela’s family over where he might be buried claimed he was in a permanent vegetative state, but both family and medical team members denied this. Family members and friends who have visited him more recently say that Mr. Mandela is sometimes awake, smiling, communicating with his eyes and even trying to talk.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Johannesburg, and Alan Cowell from London.
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The assessment contrasted with weeks of concern among South Africans and across the globe that Mr. Mandela might not recover from a lung injection that forced him into the hospital for the fourth time in a year on June 8.
Mr. Mandela’s birthday was also marked by Mandela Day when schools across the land paid tribute to the former president at morning assemblies and many organizations asked supporters to volunteer 67 minutes of their time to mark his 67 years of public service.
In a statement, President Jacob Zuma wished Mr. Mandela a happy birthday on Thursday and, using the former president’s clan name, said: “Madiba remains in hospital in Pretoria but his doctors have confirmed that his health is steadily improving.”
“On behalf of government and all the people of South Africa, we wish Madiba a joyous 95th birthday,” the statement said. “We are proud to call this international icon our own as South Africans and wish him good health. We thank all our people for supporting Madiba throughout the hospitalization with undying love and compassion. We also thank all for responding to the call to give Madiba the biggest birthday celebration ever this year.”
Mr. Mandela was hospitalized in June to be treated for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.
Little is know about the details of his medical condition. A court affidavit filed in June in a dispute within Mr. Mandela’s family over where he might be buried claimed he was in a permanent vegetative state, but both family and medical team members denied this. Family members and friends who have visited him more recently say that Mr. Mandela is sometimes awake, smiling, communicating with his eyes and even trying to talk.
Lydia Polgreen reported from Johannesburg, and Alan Cowell from London.